In this article, we’ll hear from multiple contributors about how they approached climbing both during pregnancy and postpartum. Want to add your voice to this discussion? Contact us or leave a comment below.
Q: How did your relationship with climbing change throughout pregnancy?
Meira: I wanted to stick to bouldering as long as I could. During my first trimester I was super cautious about taking big falls, sticking to steeper/shorter indoor climbing (e.g. roof climbs or the Kilter board at 45+ degrees) so I wouldn’t have as far to potentially fall, but I still felt like I could try hard (minus crazy dynos). But…. turns out all that steep climbing exacerbated my diastasis recti (separation of the abs common during pregnancy), so once I got a stern reprimanding from my OBGYN early on in second trimester, I started seeing a PT and switched tactics to only vertical climbing. This typically meant Kilter boarding at 30 degrees or less, and vertical climbs that were maybe one step above a warm-up so I wouldn’t worry about falling from higher up. When I wasn’t in the mood to climb but still wanted to hang out with friends at the gym, I started doing weighted tension block pick-ups so I could strengthen my hands without using the rest of my body. I also did a little bit of autobelaying, but hated the pregnancy harness. One of my weird pregnancy side effects was swollen/painful hands and feet, so once I couldn’t fit into my largest pair of climbing shoes, I just stopped climbing. I think this was near the beginning of the third trimester. I figured it would all come back eventually and decided to just give myself a break. Looking back, I don’t regret it.
Becca: I bouldered through my first trimester and then switched to top roping. I was worried about deciding when to stop climbing, but it actually turned out to be really obvious. I climbed happily through the end of my 8th month and then one day it just stopped feeling good, so I stopped doing it. I took the opportunity to do a lot of the other things that I enjoy but don’t make time for when climbing dominates my free time.
Kristy: I kept it going because I enjoy climbing but as I got bigger it got way too uncomfortable. I climbed up until 8 months. Steep angles were ok at the beginning but then vertical was just doable mid 2nd trimester onward. I still wanted to climb and keep fit so I could jump back in after delivery.
Liz: I was still able to push it hard bouldering and swimming my first trimester. I squeaked out a soft v9 and did my longest river swim to date. I found out I was pregnant right before a sport climbing trip to Banff and was honestly frustrated and disappointed with the lack of knowledge on lead climbing while in your first trimester. So I decided to top rope. However, I completely stopped climbing after my first trimester because I simply wasn’t having fun being so worried. I have an all-or-nothing relationship with climbing and thought this was a good time to take a step back. I started walking a lot and did aqua aerobics lol.
Preston: I was absolutely terrified to boulder past the 12 wk mark. Even though I knew better as a health care provider, I just didn’t have enough self-trust at the time. When I got on ropes I really felt like I could try hard without compromising my body. After birth I was frustrated and humbled about how my body changed and how it was responding to my return. I did see myself getting more self-conscious with climbing postpartum. Always feeling the need to make excuses for being “weaker”. I’m very thankful for my climbing gals who supported me and reminded me I didn’t have to prove anything to anyone.
Shaina: I climbed throughout my pregnancy except a couple of months in the middle, when I felt pressure to back off a little bit. When I returned while still pregnant I just followed the “absolutely no falling” rule while bouldering in the gym. So I just ran up v0s until the day before I had my daughter.
Shelby: I continued to boulder in the gym throughout my pregnancy. My first trimester, the only real change I made was making sure I was in control of my body during a fall. I did not do movements where I could not control how I landed. Having said that, I had a couple of far (15+ft) falls in the gym and I would stress about them for a long time. Eventually I felt this was absolutely not worth the stress and would only climb past a certain point if I was 100% confident or I would bail. At that point, I was not climbing a ton outside because it was summer but we did get out sport climbing and I felt comfortable with any falls I would take on a rope. By my second trimester and onward, I almost exclusively climbed on boards either Kilter, Tension and early on Moon board. I did mostly climbs that I could complete and took occasional low distance, controlled falls. By the time I started showing in my second trimester, I started wearing a pregnancy harness if we went sport climbing. However, it was so uncomfortable I rarely tried to get out on ropes. I climbed until 37 weeks and decreased the angle on the boards as time went on to make it easier.
V: Climbing and I parted ways sometime during the second trimester. It was already feeling a little off during the first trimester but I thought it could change for the better during the second, which wasn’t the case for me. My joints went on strike and didn’t come back for a while postpartum. Also I agree, pregnancy harnesses are the worst!
Q: How did you get back into climbing & exercising postpartum?
Meira: I was told by multiple people that the best thing I could do postpartum was walk as much as possible. Since I had a C-section I was worried about doing anything that might cause damage, and often imagined that I would rip open my incision and all my organs would fall out (FYI that doesn’t really happen lol). I saw a PT (highly recommend Allison Stowers at Peak!) 4 weeks postpartum and got some good daily exercises to do. At 6 weeks I was cleared by my midwife to start climbing again because my incisions had all closed up nicely. My first time back at the gym I just did ~10 super easy climbs, mostly jugs, and it felt hard but okay. It was very humbling to feel like a beginner again and struggle on climbs that used to be my warm-ups, but you just have to ignore the ego and not push it too hard or else you can risk unnecessary injuries. I’m only ~8 weeks postpartum right now, but my plan is to keep going while slowly increasing difficulty, doing regular PT, walking a bunch, and working back into doing pull-ups.
Becca: I was fortunate in that my labor went smoothly, so I recovered quickly. However, I then spent a month doing absolutely nothing but sitting in a hospital room, so I got pretty out of shape. I started climbing again at about a month and a half. It was actually a really interesting experience because climbing felt harder than it ever had, including compared to the first time I ever climbed. It was a great opportunity to remember what it feels like to be a new climber and to project lower climbing grades. You just have to be patient and enjoy having endless climbs to work on when previously your project list might have been more limited. One thing I didn’t expect about coming back is that my hips were really wiggly. Every time I dropped down from a boulder problem they felt unstable, so I was pretty cautious at first. I started feeling pretty good climbing again at about a year postpartum and by 18 months I felt like I was back to where I had been.
Kristy: My labor was not great. I had grade 3 tearing that was unavoidable. You can’t work around your baby’s head turned to the side when they are coming! It took me 3 months before I could climb and it was weird, loose, and I didn’t trust myself. I could barely do pull-ups. I definitely am taking it slow to prevent injury. I’m breastfeeding so the relaxin is still flowing and the joints are still at risk. I’m trying to get to the gym 2 times a week and climbing outside seems like a head game right now. So the gym has been the best option for me.
Liz: My labor went well and I started pelvic floor rehab with Allison Stowers at Peak Fitness. My core took a huge blow along with my ability to pull-up. Prior to pregnancy I could do about 20 pull-ups in a row and afterwards I could only do 3. I spent the first 3 weeks postpartum focusing on my pelvic floor and core. By the 3rd week I thought I was feeling good enough to get back into the gym. I was wrong and felt like I had injured my abs (luckily I didn’t) but it was a big enough scare to make me wait another 2 weeks before trying again. Meanwhile I walked..a lot. Climbing again was a slow and steady process. I set triangle goals to help build my base back up. By month 9 I was back to trying hard, however in my current state (month 10) I developed bicep tendonitis in my right bicep which has set me back a few weeks.
Preston: I’m a pelvic floor PT, so I’m definitely very fortunate in that sense. I straight up took the first 6 wks off from anything strength related. I only did breathing and mobility training. Then I started back at the climbing gym with my climbing gals with easy boulder problems, primarily focusing on technique, form, and listening to my body. Eventually I made my way to the moonboard and had a goal to do all the V3’s. Once Fall hit I made my way back to HP40 (my favorite) and tried resending a bunch of familiar problems. I could see I was sending again, but not at the same ease as before. That’s when I got pregnant and started the regression again.
Shaina: I had a really easy time in labor, and bounced back no problem. I was back out at Rocktown climbing and celebrating my daughter’s one month birthday. After that I just went to the climbing gym most days because I had time and the energy. My daughter slept well and was pleasant in public spaces, so it was easy.
Shelby: I was also fortunate that my labor and delivery was fairly smooth and I could recover quickly. I basically did my pregnancy climbing in reverse. I started doing pelvic floor exercises after a week or two. After 8 weeks, I started going to Crux and I feel like being in a program has really helped me stay motivated when I am tired and helped focus my time because I have far less of it. Outside, I have mostly bouldered and have tried to get on new problems to not compare myself to “before.” I feel like now, a year postpartum, I am stronger in some ways and still weaker in others.
V: I went to Pelvic floor PT (highly recommend Erin at The Pelvic Method) for awhile and slowly worked my way back into the gym, a little lifting there, a little hangboarding there, sprinkled a little climbing here and there. I felt like a functioning human again about a year later. 2.5 years postpartum now and I feel like I’m back to where I was pre-baby.
Don’t forget – if you want to add your voice to this discussion, or have additional questions you’d like to see answered, contact us or leave a comment below.
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